"Need an escort?" Bill asked Jan as she closed the phone, looking shaken and tearful.

"N-no. No, I shouldn't bother you that way. I have to go now, I'm so sorry for all of this." Her voice was wispy and high pitched, and she pressed one hand to her mouth briefly before moving to the door.

"I insist. We're all survivors here, regardless of personal problems." Bill followed her as he spoke, and she turned to look at him with a thankful expression on her face. They exited the tent after saying their goodbyes, Francis looking at the other two.

They all exchanged the same look, Louis letting out a low whistle.

"The plot thickens," he remarked.

"I'm goin' back to sleep," Francis muttered, shoving Louis off his bed and stretching out again. Louis made a disgruntled noise and shook his head, glancing down at Zoey and Ishmael.

From the expression on Zoey's face, from the way she was looking at their infected friend, he could tell she was hoping and wishing and praying with all her might that it hadn't been Ishmael's fault that Jan's husband was sick. Judging from the marks on Jan's hands and arms, Ishmael still had a biting problem, but if he had been allowed to rejoin society, it meant he wasn't at risk of spreading the infection.

So what HAD happened?

The young man wished there was something he could say to quell Zoey's fears, but at the same time, there was a little part of him, a darker part that didn't want to say anything and wanted to keep letting her worry. If she worried, if she doubted and started to push Ishmael away then-

Shaking his head sharply to clear the thought from his mind, Louis sucked a breath in and rubbed his eyes.

"Hey, I'm going to get something to eat," he murmured with a smile. "Are you interested?"

"Not really that hungry, but thanks for offering. If you could bring us back some drinks, that would be great," Zoey replied, offering him a smile in return. Louis nodded and headed out of the tent with a wave.

As soon as he was out of sight of her, his shoulders slumped.

He felt like he had reached a new low. Pining after an eighteen year old girl, no matter how amazing she was, didn't happen to be something that he had put on his list of things to do before he died. Pining after an eighteen year old girl who was in love with a zombie and saw him like a brother was as good as a knife to the gut.

He wanted to be happy for them, he really did…

It was just hard not to hate Ishmael for being the one she fell for. The way the world worked, it wasn't supposed to be like the movies. The guy who didn't try wasn't supposed to get the girl while the guys who tried hardest were overlooked.

Ishmael wondered if it was strange, sitting here staring at one another without speaking. He knew humans relied on speaking as their main method of communication, and talking seemed to be what humans did best. Zoey seemed content to sit across from him on the floor and stare at him with a smile, neither of them moving, neither of them speaking, both of them seeming to be waiting for the human on the bed to start snoring.

Once he was asleep, it would take a lot to wake him.

Mary had a lamb, his eyes black as coal,

If we play very quiet, my lamb

Mary never has to know…

Just once in my life

I think it'd be nice

Just to lose control, just once

Ishmael blinked, wondering exactly where the thought had come from, the words, the tune. He took a deep breath in, seeing the look on her face had changed. Zoey tilted her head to the side and frowned at him, questioning him silently. He supposed he could label the look as "Is something the matter?"

He reached out and stroked his fingers down her cheek, letting out a soft noise, her hand moving to take his, then both of them fell still and silent once more.

His mind was racing as fast as his heart. Had he just remembered something? Something from before? Had he heard that song somewhere in his life before the infection?

The context of the lyrics was easy to understand, and part of him wanted to blame the instincts that kept prodding him, urging him to take what was rightfully his, right here and now no matter who might walk in or hear them.

Zoey was HIS female, HIS… No one else's!

"Ishmael?" The spoken of focused again on the human girl in front of him, now seeing the obvious concern in her face, a flicker of fear in her eyes. He took in a breath to clear his head, looking at where their hands had been joined.

She had pulled hers from his, and now his fist was clenched so tight the skin of his knuckles had turned white. His breath had also grown heavier, and he put a hand to his head with a groan.

If he didn't get this out of his system soon, Ishmael feared he would do something he regretted.

Zoey didn't want to be afraid of him, but for a moment, a crazed look had crossed his face and he had bared his teeth like an animal. Those silver grey eyes had turned even darker, his hand beginning to tighten around hers so badly she was forced to pull hers away.

What was happening to Ishmael?

Saying his name seemed to bring him to his senses, seemed to clear whatever it was that gripped him from his head for the time being.

Ishmael let out a groan of regret, putting his hand to his head, then he lowered it and looked at her intensely for a moment. He reached out, dragging his fingers through her hair, cupping her face and dragging one thumb across her lips, a shaking sigh escaping his throat as he leaned closer.

"Mine," he growled very clearly, Zoey's eyes widening.

"Yes, Ishmael. Yours," she whispered back. Was that what he was afraid of? Was that what he had been thinking?

Even infected, men were men and all of them had the same thoughts. She swore to herself that if Ishmael and the other men in her life started some stupid territorial battle over her, she'd stomp all over them.

She was no damsel in distress and she was no prize to be fought over. Her heart had already made its decision and there was no part of her that regretted it. Smoothing her hand over Ishmael's black hair and putting her hand on his cheek, Zoey forced their eyes to meet again, frowning.

"Yours, no one else's," she murmured, Ishmael rumbling deep in his chest. She hoped she was conveying to him that she didn't appreciate his behavior; without words, it was sometimes hard to get things across to him.

Now that she was pretty sure kisses were no longer forbidden, they tasted that much sweeter. As Ishmael leaned in and kissed her, the anger and frustration melted away in the explosion of lights behind her eyes, her breath escaping her as a soft sigh.

Despite his strange behavior, Zoey was so happy to have him back. Bill had claimed that she was looking for affirmation of life when they thought Ishmael was dead, and she became aware that her affirmation might be coming to her this very moment, regardless of who might be in the room.

There was none of the quiet desperation Ishmael had portrayed in the safe room, replaced by a burning need and a very clear intention, the Hunter seizing her shoulders in his hands and pushing her roughly to the ground on her back. He straddled her waist, a deep growl issuing forth from him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

Something in her screamed 'Stop!' while a different part urged her forward. Her head was spinning, her breath was short, her skin felt feverish… Ishmael was growling softly, a sound she could feel as well as hear.

She bucked her hips up into his, the feral groan that escaped his throat making a whimper escape hers; he ground his hips back down into hers with a sharp intake of breath.

Breaking the kiss, chest now heaving, Ishmael leaned down and bit the side of her neck gently, trailing his mouth over the sensitive skin as he travelled upwards, seizing her ear in his sharp teeth. Little gasps of delight escaped her, hands now gripping at the shirt he wore, her body squirming beneath his as her eyes fluttered closed.

Then his weight was suddenly gone, Zoey letting out a soft noise of confusion as she blinked her eyes open again, looking around.

Ishmael had disappeared from view, though a soft whine from behind her bed gave her a clue as to where he had gone, and she rolled to her knees with a frown.

"What the hell?" Feeling flushed and frustrated, Zoey got to her feet and moved to join him, shaking her head at him and giving him a questioning look. "What is it?"

Louis' voiced reached her from outside, the youngest male of their group discussing something with one of the other survivors as he approached the tent, and Zoey let out a small groan, hanging her head.

"Of course," she whispered. "I asked him to bring us drinks, why did I ask him to bring us drinks?" Ishmael didn't answer, tilting his head to the side and actually arching an eyebrow at her, a habit he must have picked up somewhere along the way.

This set her off giggling, Louis calling out to them as he pushed the tent flap back and entered.

"What's so funny? And why are you hiding behind the bed?"

Author's Note!!

Aaah, the world is against them, I swear.

Now, it's Q & A time!!! You ask the questions, I've got the answers.

To Nick, one of my non-logged-in reviewers!

Yes, it was indeed a reference to 28 Weeks Later, which I thought was an ABYSSMAL film in all honesty. The first one was so much better! I did like the idea of people being carriers, however.

To Ranyo

When is the next chapter coming out? This IS the next chapter, but if I had to answer the question for the one AFTER this one, I'd say… maybe today, maybe tomorrow, depending on how quickly I write it. I got over my terrible block and I'm back on track now.

To Ithilel

More on the theory and the mutation to be explained in the next chapter! I felt a little like I was focusing too much on the other characters and not enough on Ishmael and Zoey, but at the same time, I wanted to focus a little more on the points of view of the other survivors, as per Nick's request. I rather liked the bit from Francis' POV myself!

To Gordon-Freeman

Seems my thumb isn't going to be hindering my typing performance, though it does make it a little difficult/irritating to work at times. They can't fix it anymore than they already have!

Thanks again all for reading!